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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219703">Safe Haven</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightKnight17/pseuds/TwilightKnight17'>TwilightKnight17</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kinktober 2020 [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akira puts his foot directly in his mouth at least once, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Huddling For Warmth, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Star Wars References</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:07:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219703</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightKnight17/pseuds/TwilightKnight17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It is <em>not</em> supposed to snow this much in November. But if the trade-off for being freezing is getting to spend some time alone with his crush-slash-rival-slash-nemesis, Akira will take it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kinktober 2020 [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949275</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Safe Haven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Day 26: <strong>Stripping</strong> | <strike>Scat</strike> | <strike>Burnplay</strike></p>
<p>Something rated T? For Kinktober? Who AM I?</p>
<p>(Gonna be honest here, I’m combining my love of “huddling for warmth” as a kink with a loose interpretation of stripping. Which is probably cheating just a little. XD)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Due to inclement weather, our last stop of the day will be Yongen-Jaya. All passengers please disembark at Yongen-Jaya. We apologize for the inconvenience.”</p>
<p>Akira practically tumbled off the train in the rush of grumbling people, clutching his bag tightly as the wave swept him towards the escalators that would take him back to street level. He was thankful that he’d left Morgana at Haru’s for the night; not only would he not take well to getting squished, it was going to be a cold night if this snowstorm got any worse. A freak snowstorm in November was stupid, but at least they’d had enough sense to shut down the trains before the rails started icing over.</p>
<p>By the time he made it to Leblanc, it was snowing even harder, and the front door was locked. Akira shook off the layer of ice that had collected on his coat and hair and let himself in. There was a note sitting on the counter. Sojiro’s narrow, scratchy handwriting explained that he’d gone home early after getting out the old floor heater, and that there were extra blankets on the top shelf of the pantry and leftover curry in the fridge.</p>
<p>Akira sighed and dug out the extra blankets before heading upstairs. He’d been <em>planning</em> to do laundry today, before a blizzard had decided to descend over Tokyo in lieu of the “two to four centimeters” the news had been promising. He had two oversized t-shirts, three clean pairs of boxers, a pair of sleep pants, and the uniform he was currently wearing, which was pretty much soaked through after getting snowed on twice. Everything else was crumpled into his laundry bag and in no state to be worn.</p>
<p>He changed into dry boxers and a t-shirt, and was just contemplating going downstairs and making himself coffee when there was a furious banging sound on the cafe door. Puzzled, he wrapped himself in one of the blankets and padded downstairs, where a snow golem was visible through the window.</p>
<p>Closer inspection revealed that it wasn’t a snow golem, but a very thoroughly-coated Goro Akechi, peering at him from under bangs weighed down by ice.</p>
<p>“Akira,” Goro said, muffled through the door. “Would you...p-please let me in?”</p>
<p>Shaken from his surprise, Akira unlocked the door so he could come inside. In the back of his mind, he could hear the distant sound of Makoto’s disapproving voice, scolding him for letting their traitor into the cafe when it was just the two of them alone. But Goro looked half-frozen, and Akira wasn’t going to leave him on the streets this far from home, especially when the trains had stopped running.</p>
<p>“Come on, come this way,” he urged, already reaching for the buttons of Goro’s snow-crusted coat. It had soaked through, meaning that like Akira, he had been on a train at some point before getting dumped off, and his button-up was partially see-through from the dampness. All of his pants below his knees were drenched with melting snow, and his shoes were a lost cause. “Good grief, how far did you have to walk?”</p>
<p>“I was a stop away when the trains shut down. I’d just left, since Sakura-san said he was closing up, but it was much closer to come back here than to try to get home,” Goro murmured, his voice shivering the same as his body. “It was perhaps a twenty or thirty minute walk. Cabs are few and far between in this weather, unfortunately. I was...hoping you would be willing to offer me shelter.”</p>
<p>“Thirty minutes? In those shoes?” How was he even still standing? Akira towed him towards and up the stairs, practically shoving him in front of the heater. “Get your shoes and socks off and warm your feet up. I’m going to go make something warm to drink.”</p>
<p>Before Goro could argue, he was already stumbling back down the stairs, putting on the kettle quickly. Coffee would take a bit, and it was probably too late in the evening for that, but he had a dark chocolate cocoa mix that wasn’t too sweet. Hopefully Goro would like it.</p>
<p>He mixed up two mugs and hurried back up to the attic, where he found Goro sitting in front of the heater, arms wrapped around his knees. He was still shivering, and Akira set the mugs on the floor and frowned.</p>
<p>“You’re not going to get any warmer wearing wet, cold clothes,” he pointed out.</p>
<p>Goro glanced at him from under his damp bangs. “I don’t have anything else to wear. I’m fine.”</p>
<p>“I’ve got some clean clothes you can wear. It’s fine. Seriously, I want to get you warmed up; your toes are almost blue.” Akira straightened back up and went to his box of clothes, pulling out clean boxers, sweatpants, and a long-sleeved t-shirt, plus a towel to dry off. “You can wear the sweatpants; you were out there a lot longer than me.”</p>
<p>“You need to do your laundry more often if you only have one clean pair of pants.” It might have sounded scolding, if Goro’s teeth weren’t still chattering. He accepted the clothes, hesitated a moment, then got up and started to change.</p>
<p>Akira didn’t mean to stare, but once he’d wrapped himself back in his own blanket, his eyes drifted back to Goro. The other boy was facing away, slipping his shirt from his shoulders. It was a slower process than usual, as the wet fabric clung to his chilled skin. Goro tossed the shirt aside with a wet splat and moved on to his pants, wrestling the fabric down his legs so he could kick them off. Once the wet shirt and pants were discarded on the floor, he was left in nothing but his damp underwear, and pushed them down his hips to reveal his very nice ass. Akira knew he should stop looking, but he hadn’t been paying as much attention the night they’d gone to the bathhouse. Goro’s back was toned, but in the dimmer lamplight of the attic, scars were cast into relief against the otherwise smooth skin, and Akira swallowed hard. Was all of it from fighting in the metaverse? Robin Hood didn’t have any healing magic… Depending on how long ago Goro had awakened to his persona…</p>
<p>“You’ve seen me naked before.” Goro’s voice cut into his thoughts, and he realized the other boy was looking over his shoulder at him as he swiftly dried his chest and shoulders. “I’m afraid if you were hoping for a striptease, that’s all you’re going to get. I’m too cold to be elegant.”</p>
<p>He said it dryly, clearly mocking the idea, but Akira shook his head. “No, no, I want you to warm up,” he said, and then before he could stop his stupid mouth, added, “Another time, maybe, when it isn’t barely above freezing away from the heater.”</p>
<p>He knew he was blushing. Maybe the heat in his cheeks would be enough to keep him warm. But to his surprise, he caught a hint of pink on Goro’s face before he turned away and started throwing on the borrowed clothes.</p>
<p>“You’re...an idiot,” Goro said unsteadily. As soon as he was dressed, he snatched his blanket back up and huddled in close to the heater. The hot chocolate was still pleasantly warm, and he cupped the mug between his hands as his shivers finally eased. After a moment, he murmured, “Thank you. For letting me stay, and sharing your clothes. This was the closest safe place…”</p>
<p>“Of course,” Akira said without hesitation. “If I had been home sooner, I never would have let you leave in the first place.”</p>
<p>There was quiet for a little while after that, as both of them sipped their drinks and let warmth return to their extremities. But eventually the mugs were empty, and Akira turned to look around the room with a critical eye. He knew what the best suggestion was, for several reasons, but the question was whether Goro would go for it.</p>
<p>“So…” he began. “We’ll be warmest if we share the bed, I think. We can put the heater closer, and pile both blankets on top.”</p>
<p>Goro hesitated. Akira watched a multitude of emotions flit across his face, before finally settling on ‘resigned’. “That does seem like it would be the most comfortable option,” he admitted. “I must thank you again for accommodating me like this. I would have completely understood if you wanted me to sleep on the floor.”</p>
<p>Akira snorted. “Nah. C’mon, let’s get snuggled in.”</p>
<p>Together, they piled the heavy blankets on top of Akira’s comforter and carefully scooted the heater across the room. A pair of thick socks for each of them, and then they bundled beneath the covers, huddling close. Akira was surprised when Goro wrapped an arm around him, sneaking a chilly hand under his shirt and pressing his cold nose against Akira’s neck. But he didn’t call attention to the closeness, just wrapped an arm around Goro in return and pulled him close to share the warmth.</p>
<p>“Hey,” he murmured. “I’m glad you came back here instead of trying to go home. Really. I’d have been really upset to hear that you froze to death.”</p>
<p>Goro grumbled against his neck. “Do you really think I’d be so stupid that I’d freeze to death in the middle of the street?” But he was slowly relaxing, his voice sleepy and lethargic. “You’re more likely to freeze. You and your stupid savior complex. You’d try to...rescue a stray cat or something and they’d find your frozen corpse in a tree…”</p>
<p>He had a point. “I’d like to think I’d at least make it out of the tree.”</p>
<p>“You’d end up the opposite of that… the scene in Star Battles…” Goro said, mostly asleep. “Where he stays warm by killing his mount and...and curling up in its guts until his friends find him. Except they’d find you frozen with Morgana inside your coat… And Mona would be fine...”</p>
<p>Akira had to bite his lip to keep from bursting out laughing and jarring Goro back awake. It was surprisingly cute to see him talking without his usual filter. “At least Mona wouldn’t try to climb into my guts.”</p>
<p>“He might…” Goro huffed sleepily, and Akira couldn’t help but grin.</p>
<p>There were no more words. Goro drifted off, warm against Akira’s side, and Akira stayed awake just a little longer to stroke his hair and appreciate the peaceful moment between them. He knew this wasn’t going to change anything by itself, but he was glad it had happened. Despite initial appearances, the weather had been to his benefit.</p>
<p>...and if that blush had indicated anything, maybe he could talk Goro into a real striptease sometime before the end of the month.</p>
<p>Preferably somewhere with central heating.</p>
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